Jon KastnerHave You Seen Lucky?

Billed as the first "solo record from the former Asexuals/Doughboys/All Systems Go! Front-man, Have You seen Lucky? is anything but. Kastner has assembled something of an all-star cast of mostly Canuck rockers that includes former Doughboys co-conspirator Jonathon Cummins, Blue Rodeos Jim Cuddy, Voivod drummer Away and even Rush axe-man Alex Lifeson, who join Fears Lee Ving, ALL/Descendents bassist Karl Alvarez and Big Drill Car/All Systems Go! guitarist Mark Arnold at various points. Together it makes for a name-dropping celebrity gawk-fest that does nothing to detract from the mixed bag of pop punk gems like "Trainwreck Magnetism, "Hold Me Up and "Art of War, which easily sit alongside more refined indie nuggets like "Kick Back and "Its All Too Familiar. Kastner has always been something of a conflicted, bipolar songwriter, which is why the Doughboys started to well, frankly, to suck in their later days. He redeemed himself with the more focused, rock heavy All Systems Go! project. Here, the "two Kastners actually work side-by-side in tandem as opposed to being at odds with one another. Kastner has always been a solid songwriter who knows a killer hook when he writes it and this may be his most consistent and finest collection of songs in a long time.
(Boss Tuneage)